Unlicensed Home Construction Halted

A transient who goes by the name of Danny M. Wells has undertaken ingenious efforts to secure permanent supportive housing.

A receipt left on the ground showed that Wells had ordered wood from Home Depot and had it delivered to a location behind the protective wall at Chautauqua and Pacific Coast Highway (just north of the nursery).

He built a structure but was later informed by LAPD that his “house” was located on Caltrans property, and that he also couldn’t build a structure on the hill below Corona del Mar, because it was private property.

His structure was next to a “Restricted Entry, Very High Fire Severity Zone” sign. The structure, and a stove, were taken away.

A few days later, Wells put up a tent in about the same location with a warning that security cameras were in use and that this was a “US Forest Service Police Officer Site.”

That tent, also on Caltrans property, was taken down.

Wells has posted that he is the owner of the Roosevelt Pedestrian Tunnel (under PCH) and that he plans to section off part of the tunnel for his living quarters, specifically the section that is not needed by the public.

He also posted a notice that this estate plan of his was adopted by the U.S. Court in 1977 and if there are questions, people can contact Senator Mike Rounds of South Dakota—and gives the Senator’s email and phone number.

“That office will be the point of contact,” the notice explains. “Communication is to be through the mailbox I put there, it will be near the tunnel or on the beach and it will be tagged JJ.”

The second page of Wells’ notice explains that the “RAND Corporation in Santa Monica is to disclose 25% of my Trust Fund that are Germain to this circumstance.”

He then lists other organizations/schools that are allowed to inform the public about the trust fund, such as the Pacific Palisades Community Council, the Palisades Chamber of Commerce, Palisades Charter High School, Paul Revere, Corpus Christi, St. Matthew’s, Seven Arrows and at least 10 other Palisades groups.

The Pacific Palisades Task Force on Homelessness is monitoring Wells, but other than citing him for trespassing (or lacking a building permit on land that’s not his), there is nothing that can be done for the man, who is resistant to services.

The current mental health laws allow Wells to live on the streets because he is not considered a threat to himself or to other people.

Senator Rounds was emailed to see if he knew anything about Wells but had not yet responded.

After his wood structure was taken down, the transient put up a tent with the warning sign.